5.  The applicant was born in 1951 and lives in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.
6.  In April 2000 the girlfriend of the applicant’s son wished to leave Northern Ireland with the applicant’s ten-month old grandson and return to live in Australia following her separation from the applicant’s son. In order to try and force her son and his girlfriend to reconcile their differences, and in the hope that her grandson would not return to Australia, the applicant disappeared with her grandson at 6 p.m. on 19 April 2000 without the parents’ permission. The police were called and the child was returned unharmed on the morning of 21 April 2000.
7.  The applicant was subsequently arrested for child abduction. At a police interview on 24 April 2000, in the presence of her solicitor, the applicant confirmed that she had been aware at the time that she took her grandson that her conduct amounted to child abduction.
8.  By letter dated 10 October 2000 the Director of Public Prosecutions recorded his decision that the public interest did not require the initiation of criminal proceedings against the applicant and that no such proceedings should therefore be brought. Instead, he indicated that a caution should be administered.
9.  The applicant received a caution for child abduction which was formally administered on 17 November 2000.
10.  On 6 March 2003, in reply to a query from the applicant, the police advised her that her caution would remain on record for five years, and so would be held on record until 17 November 2005.
11.  On 14 September 2006 the applicant was offered employment as a Health Care Family Support Worker within Foyle Health and Social Services Trust (“the Trust”) through Westcare Business Services (“Westcare”), subject to vetting. She was asked to disclose details of prior convictions and cautions. She accordingly disclosed details of the incident of April 2000 and her subsequent caution on the form provided, and consented to a criminal record check. Westcare contacted the Criminal Records Office of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (“Criminal Records Office”) to verify the details disclosed. The existence of the caution was duly verified.
12.  On 31 October 2006 Westcare withdrew the offer of employment, indicating that it had taken into account the verification by the Criminal Records Office of the caution for child abduction.
13.  The applicant subsequently sought to challenge her acceptance of the caution in November 2000 by letter to the Criminal Records Office. In an undated letter, the Criminal Records Office replied to her in the following terms:
“... in a case where someone agrees to be cautioned by the police for a particular offence, by doing so they are accepting that they were guilty of the offence in the first place. This information is printed on the caution form, which you signed on 17th November 2000.
Regrettably there is no way to change that. The case cannot be brought back to a court because the whole idea of the caution was to keep it out of court in the first instance.
I should also point out that the information given to Sgt Dunne and which he relayed to you in 2003, about the weeding date for an adult caution, was correct at that time but there has since been a policy change. Normally an adult caution will be weeded after a period of five years, provided the defendant has not been convicted of any further offences. However following the murder of the schoolgirls in Soham England and the subsequent Bichard Report the weeding policy was changed in relation to all cases where the injured party is a child. The current policy is that all convictions and cautions, where the injured party is a child, are kept on the record system for life.”
14.  The letter concluded:
“I fully appreciate that the offence in your case was not the normal type of offence and that the child did not suffer any harm and that it was never your intention that he should suffer any harm. The offence code under which the offence comes for computing purposes classes the offence as ‘child abduction’ (by other person). Which means a person other than a parent of the child.
... Perhaps you would be good enough to contact me ... in order that we might discuss the matter and perhaps find some means of ameliorating the consequences of the information given above.”
15.  By letter dated 6 May 2006 to the applicant’s solicitor, the Criminal Records Office confirmed that in signing the caution form the applicant had accepted guilt for the offence in question and that nothing could be done to change the criminal record. The applicant’s solicitor subsequently informed her that there did not appear to be any action which she could take in relation to the removal of the caution.
16.  By letter dated 6 December 2006 Detective Superintendent Thomson of the Northern Ireland Police Service confirmed that he would not delete the caution from police records. However he proposed, with the applicant’s agreement, to add a comment to the effect that the incident was domestically related and that in any vetting context the applicant should be approached for an explanation.
17.  In January 2007 the Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission (“the LSC”) refused an application for legal aid, made by the applicant’s solicitor, to review the Trust’s decision not to employ the applicant. The solicitor informed the applicant that she could appeal the LSC’s decision at a cost of GBP 500 for representation by counsel, but the applicant could not afford to instigate legal proceedings without public funding.
18.  In February 2007 the applicant was interviewed for a position as a Family Support Worker. The interview letter advised that the position was a regulated one under Article 31 of the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 and she was asked to complete a consent form and bring it to the interview.
19.  On 29 March 2007 the applicant was informed that her application for the position was unsuccessful. No reasons were provided.